Changes in the Geography of Passenger Liner Ports: The Rise of the Southeastern Florida Ports

CHANGES IN THE GEOGRAPHY OF PASSENGER LINER PORTS: THE RISE OF THE SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA PORTS* Charles A. Stansfield, Jr. Since 1971, Miami, Florida, has replaced New York City as the leading U.S. port of departure for international sea passengers. Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), some 20 miles north of Miami, is the third ranking international sea passenger port. Between the early 1960's and 1975 the number of international passengers departing New York City by ocean liner dropped from more than 450,000 annually to slightly more than 150,000 (Fig. 1). On the other hand, during the five years between 1968 and 1973, international passenger departures from the two major southeastern Florida ports combined increased from approximately 160,000 to almost 400,000. These changes are logical outgrowths of changes in transportation technology and in patterns of leisure travel. THE GROWTH OF NEW YORK AS A PASSENGER PORT. From its beginnings through the 1930's transatlantic passenger service was characterized by the progressive introduction of ships of increasing size, comfort, and speed. Besides the increased efficiency which these larger ships represented, and their potential value as troop carriers during times of war, they were visible symbols of national power, technical progress, and prestige. Competition in this last respect was especially strong between Britian and France, where national pride spawned such beautiful, large, and luxurious ships as the Queen Mary and the Normandie. (1) As ships engaged in transatlantic service increased in size, the number of ports capable of handling them decreased correspondingly. Only a few harbors possessed adequate channel depths, sufficient shelter from the open sea, and low enough tidal ranges for safely Dr. Stansfield is Chairman, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Glassboro State College, Glassboro, NJ 08028. * Cartography for the paper was by Dr. Chesha Zimolzak, Senior Planner, Cumberland County Planning Office, Bridgeton, NJ. 26 Southeastern Geographer SEA PASSENGER DEPARTURES FOR FOREIGN PORTS ^ 250 000 Miami • New York -Port Everglades 6570 Fiscal Years Figure 1. Sea Passenger Departures for Foreign Ports from the Port of New York, from Port of Miami, and from Port Everglades, 1959-1975 fiscal years. Data were supplied by the United States Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, D.C.: Table 33, Part 2, "Passenger Travel Between the United States and Foreign Countries, by Sea and Air, by Vol. XVII, No. 1 27 berthing such ships. Ports where natural harbors were incapable of handling the large ships introduced during the twentieth century were seldom able to justify construction of suitable artificial harbors. Furthermore, as ships increased in size and capacity the number of ports possessing hinterlands capable of attracting stopovers from the largest vessels in the transatlantic trade steadily decreased. (2) New York City, with its deep, spacious, well-protected harbor and the huge, prosperous population within its hinterland, became increasingly dominant as the American port of call for large passenger liners. The city's leading position as a financial and administrative center and as an entrepot for emigrants, and the habits of tourists and shippers alike, all contributed to its preeminence in transatlantic passenger service. (3) LUXURY CRUISES AND THE DECLINE OF NEW YORK. With the decline in number of emigrants entering the Port of New York following World War I the ocean liner trade shifted increasingly toward pleasure travel, with winter cruises to tropical waters becoming important during the 1920s. When transatlantic passenger traffic fell to less than half of the 1920s rate during the Great Depression of the 1930s, owners of passenger vessels began scheduling their ships on more cruises to Nassau, Palm Beach, Miami, and Havana. (4) Following World War II air travel increased at a dramatic rate. Service was greatly improved when jet aircraft were adopted by the commercial airlines, with the first transatlantic jet service by an American airline initiated in 1958. By 1960, some 70 percent of transatlantic passenger service was by jet, a figure which had risen to 96 percent by 1970. (5) The fate of the huge transatlantic ocean liners was sealed, sending many of them to the scrap yards. Travelers were no longer willing to spend up to half of a three or four week European or American vacation enroute to and...